Call centre group HEROtsc plans to build on‘heroic’ performance

David Turner: 'platform for further growth is strong'

KRISTY DORSEY

SCOTLAND’S biggest call centre company is predicting further growth following a year in which pre-tax profits more than doubled to nearly £9 million.

Larbert-based HEROtsc, owned by India’s Hero Group, saw turnover rise by 30 per cent to £81.7m in the 12 months to March. Employment across its ten contact centres – six in Scotland – rose by a third to 6,000.

The latest accounts noted that HEROtsc “continues to seek acquisitions, which will complement our existing operations, allowing the provision of wider multi-media services to our existing and future clients”.

Led by chief executive David Turner, HEROtsc has been pushing to expand and enhance its offering in a bid to better compete against lower-cost competitors. This has included the launch of a new consulting division, Smart Solutions.

New business wins included a major contract with satellite operator Sky. That agreement led HEROtsc to open a 1n200-strong centre in Derby in February, followed in April by a new centre in Glasgow employing 800. Other Scottish sites are located in Dunoon, Falkirk, Greenock, Kilmarnock and Rothesay.

Turner said HEROtsc would continue to invest in innovations such as Smart Solutions, expected to have a “long-term positive impact” on the business.

“The full benefits of the two sites we opened earlier this year, in Derby and Glasgow, are still to be reflected in the company’s performance,” he added. “With £11.2m in capital investment spent or planned across 2012 and 2013, the platform for further growth is strong.”

The group secured a £14.8m funding package in August with Royal Bank of Scotland, which included £12.5m in working capital and a further £2.3m in asset financing for the purchase of new equipment.